My boss could retire in the very near future--how do I cope?

March 12, 2023 1:01 PM

Hoping the hive mind can help me out. I've Googled for answers and I have only found a couple of articles. Most results are when the boss wants you to retire!

I work for a very large organization and my manager hit their 85 factor last year--that is, their age and years of service means they can retire when they want.

As a direct report, this makes me nervous because there are some signs the manager is looking towards their future without work--not caring as much about certain things as they were in the past, dropping "leaving a legacy" type hints, nostalgic stories, dressing down, etc. etc.

There isn't a succession plan AFAIK.

What can I do, as a direct report, to mitigate the situation? Obviously, a lot is out of my control, but this is the first time in my working life where a boss wasn't the same age as myself.

I have not been getting what I need from them most of the time in the past six months and I feel unsupported in my work. I have to ask a lot of clarifying questions, send reminders, and manage the manager :-P

• How do I ensure that I receive support from them when I need it?
• How do I prepare for a potential new manager?
• Do you have any tips from your past working experience that I might use in this situation?

TIA!

posted by anonymous to Work & Money (7 answers total)

Having been through this kind of thing several times, the most important advice I can give you is to update your resume and touch base with everyone in your network, so that you won’t feel awkward contacting them for job leads and/or references in the near future.
posted by MexicanYenta at 1:25 PM on March 12, 2023 [8 favorites]

Do you want their job? Show them you don’t need much from them, ask yourself “how would I solve this if I were in charge and I had to solve it myself?” and do that, make yourself indispensable and you’ll be the logical choice to replace them.
posted by kapers at 3:05 PM on March 12, 2023 [6 favorites]

This is a great question for Ask a Manager.
posted by BlahLaLa at 4:03 PM on March 12, 2023 [3 favorites]

Is there anything different about retirement here from any other job change? Assuming not, you might want to look for advice on "my manager just quit", and then try to plan ahead for it.
posted by Lady Li at 7:02 PM on March 12, 2023

Yeah I think you're up for some upheaval no matter what, but which is OK with you? Do you want their job? Would you be satisfied getting a lateral promotion and just getting back into a supportive and/or productive routine? If your idea is to ride it out and see what happens without having to change cubicles, I think you'll just have to float like a cork and let the chips fall.
posted by rhizome at 7:28 PM on March 12, 2023 [1 favorite]

If you are in a big organization, do you know another manager at the same level that you can talk to? Could you transfer out from under this person, or else float the idea of merging two groups (which they might then seize on as their own exit plan)?
posted by wenestvedt at 4:37 AM on March 13, 2023

This is something your manager's manager should manage.
posted by leaper at 9:22 AM on March 13, 2023